Experts: Stress in education environment causes school phobia among kids

MUMBAI: Fifteen-year-old Priyanka Mehta (name changed) always enjoyed going to school. But suddenly last year, she began making excuses, such as stomach ache and headache, to avoid school. A visit to the physician revealed that all was well with her, so her parents pressured her to attend school. “This began when she was in class IX and she missed an entire year.During this time, she turned violent and would hit her parents at the mention of going to school,” said the girl’s counsellor.
After over a year of missing school and nearly five and a half months of counselling, Priyanka has now started attending school regularly and even goes for swimming classes.
Psychiatrists diagnose this condition as school phobia or separation anxiety. While reasons for school phobia could include anything from teasing to a strict teacher or problems at home, separation anxiety occurs when a child becomes anxious when he or she is separated from the primary caregiver, usually the mother.
Priyanka’s victory, however, did not come easy. It required consistent effort from both the school and parents. “Parents and schools need to be very patient. Her parents did not give up on both her treatment and medication. It becomes very difficult to convince parents in accepting these troubles,” the teenager’s counsellor said.
Mental health experts said such cases have increased by approximately 300% in the past few years. “Separation anxiety is on the rise with both parents working. School phobia has also shot up among kids due to the increased general stress in the education environment, especially in pre-primary. With such low awareness levels, often schools and parents use harsh measures which aggravate the condition,” said Dr Harish Shetty, a psychiatrist.
According to Dr Shetty, such children should be brought back to school through baby steps. “Even if the child is undergoing treatment, it may take months or years to get him/her back to school. Schools must co-operate to ensure that the counsellor is allowed to experiment. Sometimes the child needs to just go up to the school gate and return home. A few days later, it could be a visit to the library and then eventually the classroom,” he explained.
Schools feel it is important to extend best support to the child and the parents. “A student refused to come to school saying he needed to protect his mother. We assured him that his mother would be safe in the principal’s cabin while he sits in class. We needed help from our school counsellors as well in this case,” said the principal of a suburban school.
Schools are also making efforts to sensitize other students about the problems. “Both parents and the child do not want to be labelled. So we try and talk with the child in case of a problem. We also hold sensitization sessions with other children so that they know that others might be in the same boat and they are no different,” said Seema Sabhlok, principal of S M Shetty High School in Powai.